Auggie's Four Senses
by nourgelitnius
Summary: I still had four senses left, and she was triggering every single one of them.


Disclamer: I don't own Cover Affairs (or else Annie and Auggie would be flirting dangerously and making out by now) and I don't own any of the characters (See above). Enjoy!

* * *

Being blind wasn't as bad as people made it out to be.

Food tasted much better, or worse, if you went to that Bistro on Adams Street.

The unique and pleasurable sounds of Charles Mingus were amplified beautifully. Unfortunately, so were the sounds coming from the apartment next door every Monday morning at 3:30 a.m.

The wardrobe was easy to handle; black on black. With the help of an overly caring sister, colors with sharp textures were thrown in so that I could co-ordinate my own outfits and satisfy the women in my family. And my sense of smell guaranteed that I was always showered and well groomed.

But touch, I think that was the one sense that surprised me the most. Every breath of air on my skin was felt with alarming sensitivity.

But most of all, being blind was what prepared me for, and got me through, four years of being just friends with Annie Walker.

I could hear her walk the moment she entered the room. My sense of sound following her as she weaved through the desks, allowing a sigh to escape my lips when I heard her steps turn angry and short as she past Jai Wilcox's desk, letting me know just by the way she was walking that things were finally over between them.

Annie's perfume changed depending on her mood. Jo Malone Grapefruit for everyday life that switched to eucalyptus when she was overly sad, Rose when she was feeling stressed by something in particular, or that special Almond Vanilla Sugar blend when she was in the mood for romance, the warning sign that someone new had caught her attention. Those four scents had helped me navigate the blind-guy-in-love-with-his-best-friend waters that I had been shipped out to years ago.

My sense of taste always assured a joint trip to the Farmers Market on Sunday mornings; new recipe in hand and on the lookout for the freshest of produce. Around the time Annie moved out of her sister's guest house and into her own place a year after joining the CIA, Annie decided to use my tasting skills to test out new recipes and, when we were bored, have a round of blind tasting, no pun intended.

Sundays are my favorite day of the week.

All of these things were wonderful, but mostly it was the touch; her hand in the crook of my arm as we walked places, or the way she would play with the hair at the nape of my neck and tell me I needed a hair cut. There have been a few times when she has kissed me on the cheek. I have memorized the contours of her lips and our weekly sparring matches have allowed me to feel all the curves of her body.

I know how every muscle in her body moves.

For most men, sighted men, those sounds, smells, and touches would be over looked to stare inappropriately at what I have felt to be an attractive physic.

They could stare, but I have touched.

I had the memories to get me through the odd night off when I had nothing to distract myself. Nights like tonight.

The movements of one memorable sparring match were running through my mind when I heard Annie's Louboutin heels come to a rest on the other side of my apartment door. I waited for her to knock and when none came, I rose from my seat on the couch and went to open the door.

I could almost hear her smile as I opened the door and my nose was hit that special sugary almond and vanilla smell.

"Annie, it's only," I stopped and felt my watch. A loud voice announced the time. " It's only 10:30 and you're done with your date? Must not have been a very good evening." I opened the door a little wider and let her pass through, her scent surrounding me like a cloud. Even after all these years she was still an expert at applying the perfect amount.

"Yeah, well, as it turns out, the conversation was severely lacking once you took out the opportunity to talk about secret missions and operations. Turns out we didn't have much in common. It was almost like being on a date with that one guy my sister tried setting me up with." I heard her move to the couch, sit in almost the exact spot I had been sitting in moments before, and relax.

"Which one?" I asked as I too sat down on the couch and draped my arm over the back.

"The one I saw while taking down Tas? My first mission with the CIA?" Her voice grew thoughtful as she stopped talking. All my senses were on overload, as was often the case when she was around.

"Auggie?" she asked as she shifted closer into my side. "I see you flirting with women all the time. I know you go on dates and even sleep with a couple, but why haven't I seen you in a relationship? In the four years I have known you, you have never taken a long term interest in any of the girls you meet. Why is that?"

I was used to Annie asking in depth questions and actually expecting answers. She loved to ask me questions about what my last visual memory was, what I would look at if I had sight again for only a minute. But this was the first time she had ventured into the subject of women in my life. I shifted a little.

What was I supposed to tell her? Our relationship was heavily defined by our frankness with each other. We always told the truth.

"Well, I guess I just haven't been given a shot with the one I'm meant to be with." I said, pointedly looking towards my kitchen area so I wouldn't have to face her. I could feel her breath on my neck as she let out a sigh. The scent of alcohol was present.

"Auggie?" My name rolled off her tongue like a well known sweet nothing. Something had changed in her tonight and I wasn't too sure it wasn't because of the alcohol. "Why have you and I never gone anywhere?" She shifted closer to me, her body now in the perfect spot for me to drape my arm around her and never let her go.

I was trying to make sense of the situation. To understand what drove her to act the way she was acting. Even drunk people had reasons. But my silence must have been too much for her.

"Auggie?" She asked yet again, and this time I turned to face her. "Kiss me." As I felt her lean in the faint smell on her breath restarted my still heart and led me to jump from my seat.

"Annie, how much have you had to drink tonight?" I asked as I slowly moved away from her. I could hear her following.

"Only one glass of wine. Auggie I-" she stopped and I could hear her fidget with a piece of jewelry she was wearing before stepping right up against me and holding on so I wouldn't move. "Ever since Jai and I ended, even before I think, all of these thoughts, thoughts that I didn't think I should be having, have been racing through my head. Comparisons. What if's. Memories remembered differently." She moved me backwards slightly before reaching behind me and flipping on my stereo. One of Mingus's more subtle songs filled my apartment. My heartbeat sped up.

"Annie, I don't get what you are saying." I said slowly.

"I'm saying, Auggie, that I think I might be in love with you. And maybe I have been for a long time." I Stumbled a little backwards from her confession. I couldn't believe what she was saying was true.

"Are you sure it was wine you were drinking and not Everclear?"

She stepped up against my chest and wrapped her hands around my neck, slightly massaging the tightly wound muscles.

"Care for a little blind testing?" And with that, her lips met mine for the first time.

I could taste the fermented berries on her lips. She may have had only one glass of wine, but she was doing a good job of getting me drunk.

* * *

I just had to do an Auggie/Annie story. After watching yesterdays episode (Oh, the sparring lesson!) I got right to writing this. It's been a looonng time since I have posted anything, but reviews I remember being pleasant.

Anyway, I set this four years into the future because I wanted to be at least a little realistic. I think writers are sadists. They introduce this set of people who are obviously meant for each other, make them friends, and then wait almost the entire series to get them together. And I decided to have Annie having been in a relationship with Jai because lets face it, they are setting her up for him.

Let me know what you think, and let us all pray to the TV land gods to get these two together soon. Or at least to give them lots of cute moments to watch that make for really good fanvideo editing :).


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